In Charity Auction, Citi CEO Corbat Is No Warren Buffett

Mr. Corbat, the chief executive of Citigroup Inc., was kind enough to give up an evening of his time to go to dinner with the winner of a charity auction that raised money for BYkids, a nonprofit that teaches young people how to make documentaries.

Warren Buffett > Michael Corbat > Don Rickles

Bloomberg News

After 22 bids on the website Charitybuzz, and some frantic action in the last few minutes, the auction just concluded with a winning bid of $26,000. The winning bidder had a username of “metsgod.”

It’s an amount that will certainly come in handy for BYkids, and wouldn’t have been possible without Mr. Corbat’s generosity. But we can’t help but compare the result to some other recent charity auctions with prominent business leaders.

But those are all downright bargain-basement prices compared to the cost of dining with Mr. Buffett, the chairman of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. Mr. Buffett has long auctioned off lunch as a way to raise money for the Glide Foundation, a San Francisco charity that offers food, clothing, shelter and health care to the needy. This year’s winning bid was for more than $2.16 million.

But Mr. Corbat should take heart. Compared to some of the other auctions currently running on Charitybuzz, he’s still a member of the 1%.

A representative for Charitybuzz said the winner wanted to remain anonymous. But whoever it is, the website promises, they’ll get a chance to chow down with Mr. Corbat and talk about a few of his favorite topics: banking (even if his own is wrestling a lot of demons), the economy, fly fishing and skiing. His wife, Donna Corbat, will even join if the lucky winner wants to bring a partner.

Drinks and tip are included. But Mr. Corbat gets to pick the restaurant.